Merging of towns at standstill

11:50 PM,
Mar. 16, 2012

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Nearly a year after Gov. Chris Christie signed a bill that opened the door for further study of a Cherry Hill-Merchantville merger, the process has come to a virtual standstill.

The 10-member Consolidation Commission met last week but once again ran into an ongoing stumbling block in the process - that is, which municipality would pay for a consultant to conduct a study on the proposed consolidation.

"That's a sticking point," said Commission Vice Chairman Rich James of Merchantville. The commission is composed of five residents from each town. ...